The Russian Empire was rich in truly extraordinary artists, all of them had their own unique style, favorite genres and stories that to this day delight the soul of a Russian person. However, not all of them were glorified both during life and after death, which is an unfortunate injustice. Such an artist was also M.V. Nesterov - the author of many paintings glorifying the power of Russia and the Orthodox faith. His most famous works are Vision to Youth Bartholomew, Silence, a series of works dedicated to St. Sergius of Radonezh and Holy Russia. It is on the last of them that attention will be focused in this article.
Artist Biography
The homeland of M.V. Nesterov is the small town of Ufa, in which he was born in 1862. The atmosphere of his family was saturated with a love of faith - the artist's parents were deeply religious people, who instilled in Mikhail Vasilyevich a special attitude to everything related to Christianity. They supported the young creator's interest in painting and provided significant support for his endeavors, for which the artist was extremely grateful to them throughout his life.
At the age of 12, Mikhail Nesterov moved to Moscow to enter the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and after that - to the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. The teachers who had a significant influence on him were the best artists of that time: V. G. Perov, P. P. Chistyakov, I. M. Pryanishnikov, V. E. Makovsky.
In 1883, in his hometown during the summer holidays, the artist meets his first wife, Maria Martynova, who tragically died 3 years after the wedding during the birth of their daughter. After this, Mikhail Nesterov will often write the heroines of his works in the image of the late lover. Resigned to the loss of Mary, he married a second time almost 20 years after her death.
His serious career as a professional begins its development in 1885, when he receives the title of free artist. After that, the paintings painted by Nesterov bring him increasing recognition, among them the work “Hermit”, bought by the well-known P. M. Tretyakov. He also undertakes to paint many temples, drawing inspiration from European shrines, this activity brings him unprecedented pleasure.
After the October Revolution, difficulties arise in the life of the creator - his family is forced to move to the Caucasus, where the artist is overtaken by a disease. The last 26 years of Nesterov’s have been going on intensively due to the fact that most of the works he creates are of religious themes, and this runs counter to the ideology of the Soviets. The artist died at 81 years of age and was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.
Painting "Holy Russia"
This is one of the most controversial works of the artist was presented to the world in 1902. The basis of the plot of this picture is the words of Christ from the Gospel: "Come to Me, all you who work and are heavy laden, and I will calm you down." The same phrase is considered the unofficial second name of "Holy Russia" by Nesterov Mikhail.
This creation was unfavorably accepted by society: many critics considered it contrary to the current church canons. In the address of the picture, comments were also made that Christ turned out to be detached, indifferent. Perhaps this is due to the fact that his gaze is directed in the opposite direction from people coming to him. Thus, the general impression of people from this picture was not very pleasant. Subsequently, the artist admits that he sought to correct the mistakes made in this work when writing the next work - "In Russia" (also known as "The Soul of the People"), where he depicted Jesus already in the form of an icon.
About creating a work
The year of writing "Holy Russia" by Nesterov was marked by gradually unfolding pre-revolutionary events, but despite this, he boldly demonstrates it at the exhibition. Before starting to work on the work, he carefully studies the area on Solovki in the Arkhangelsk region, drawing numerous sketches and sketches. All the characters in the picture also have their own prototypes in real life, which Nesterov painted in the same place. The only exceptions are the images of the saints and Christ taken from their canonical images, as well as two women on the left in the picture supporting the patient — their artist painted from his sister and mother. By combining all the achievements collected over time, Mikhail Vasilievich creates this famous work.
The meaning inherent in the canvas
The plot of the picture is full of symbolism. The action takes place as if during early Christianity, when the decoration of the churches was very simple and their appearance was not given so much importance. That is why the church does not take up much space on the canvas, and for the same reason, Christ appeared to people in the middle of the forest, in nature. The hidden meaning of the picture is that the whole Russian land, with the splendor of its nature and the people who live on it, is Holy Russia. It can also be interpreted as an answer to people, what is the greatness of their homeland - in the pure Orthodox faith.
It is also symbolic that the repentance that permeated Nesterov’s Holy Rus is connected with concern for the future of Russia. After all, the picture was painted at a time when serious changes in the country were foreseen.
Description of the artwork "Holy Russia" by Nesterov Mikhail
On the very background of the picture are small plants - shrubs, small spruce, immature birch trees. Even this traces the true admiration of the artist by the nature of Russia.
According to the plot of the picture, the center of the composition is Christ, Saints Sergius of Radonezh (to the right of Christ), George the Victorious (behind) and Nikolai the Wonderworker (left). These great martyrs are deeply respected by the artist, because their presence in the works of the artist is not accidental. The church behind them is depicted without excessive pretentiousness - a wooden one, covered with a thick layer of snow with gray domes. Allocating to her such a small space on the canvas, Nesterov tries to focus the viewer's attention mainly on people and saints.
Central plan
The people who came to repentance and their troubles to Jesus are very different - and nobles, and very young believing boys and girls, and elders, and wanderers. At the feet of the saints is a poor peasant, and probably lies someone close to him. The peasant asks Christ for the healing of his own person. A little further away is a young girl in a black shawl, whose gaze is pierced by sorrow. Due to the predominance of gloomy flowers in her robes, it can be assumed that she was widowed and came to ask for the repose of the soul of her beloved. On the right in the picture of Mikhail Nesterov "Holy Russia" two women are depicted who help the sick girl stand on her feet. Behind all this cluster of people are seen elderly wanderers who seem completely uninterested in what is happening.
Distant plan
In the background of the work one can see the boundless expanse of Holy Russia: high mountains covered with dense forest, a wide river. Everything is wrapped in snow and silently silent, trying not to interfere with what is happening in the picture. The power of nature that Nesterov put into Holy Russia confirms the assumption that he considers the whole Russian land endowed with a special gift - all-forgiving, helping and healing. It is also noteworthy that the artist does not distinguish the landscape with bright colors, as if forgetting a little about him, but the viewer still feels the presence of a silent giant, nature, on the canvas.
Painting palette
As in many of his other works, the artist does not seek to make the color scheme "flashy", overly saturated. Mikhail Vasilievich, as it were, was trying to transfer the attention of the contemplative to the plot, so that he would not be distracted by colors. The main shades of "Holy Russia" Nesterov - gray, blue, brown. There are not so many dark details, a complex gray-blue cold color dominates - he wrote the cloudy sky, snow and air. Relatively bright accents can be seen on the details - the wanderer’s scarf, the peasant’s basket, the garment of St. George, the flowers on the clothes of a noblewoman and the clothes of a sick girl.
Despite the seemingly cold appearance of the work, it nevertheless attracts attention and holds it due to the presence of many details. The viewer involuntarily thinks about what the artist sought to convey, and then the picture plays with new colors.
Other works of Mikhail Vasilyevich
As mentioned earlier, the work “Errors” after writing “Holy Russia” was the work “Soul of the people”. In this creation, a religious procession is depicted and everything that caused a wave of indignation among critics in a previous work is corrected - this is the absence of Christ in the image of a person, and saints, and a greater penetration of the plot. The painting was painted in 1916, its landscape corresponds to a real place near the Volga River. Like in "Holy Russia", many of its heroes are written according to real people - among the God-seekers depicted well-known writers - Soloviev, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It is noteworthy that these geniuses of the word were also deeply religious people, and for this reason the artist changed his mind to depict Maxim Gorky on it - his heart was occupied with the idea of ​​revolution, not faith.
In addition to writing paintings related to the theme of Orthodoxy, Nesterov enthusiastically paints the interior of churches. The first monumental wall painting was done in the church of Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev. The artist was so fascinated by this type of art that he continued to work in temples for 22 years of his life.
Then he painted the palace church of Alexander Nevsky in Georgia, where he created more than 50 works with his hand, then the Martha-Mariinsky Convent, in which one of his best works was The Way to Christ, then the Transfiguration Cathedral and the Solovetsky Monastery. For all the time he worked in churches, Mikhail Vasilievich created a volume of work incomparable with the number of paintings of any other monumentalist. Moreover, he began to write completely new subjects for that time - no one before him depicted saints against the background of nature.
It is impossible to overestimate the contribution of Mikhail Nesterov to Russian art. Creating original works full of love for the Russian faith and nature, the artist in the best way promoted sincere respect for the vast Motherland - Russia.